My paris journey…

all about me!

Bonjour!

I had not one but two friends tell me this week that I should tell my story!

Alors… here is my story.

You will either like me or dislike me by the end of it and that is ok with me. Not everyone will get me and I believe what other people think of me is none of my business. Either way, it is what it is. Take me or leave me, I offer no excuses nor regret.

I’m not going to tell you all of my life story, because some of it is too sad, but I will share a little. Some of you may think I lead a charmed life here in Paris, which is somewhat true but there have also been times when I have struggled to be me so I ask only that you read me with an open and non judgemental mind.

Year 2013.

I want to start my story at the end of my 30 year marriage where I had made the decision to move to Paris. In the lead up to my decision I was living in New Zealand with my eldest sister for a period of two months. Once I returned to Australia and back to the family home, I decided over a period of two weeks that I would buy a one way ticket to Paris and so that is exactly what I did.

The breakdown of my marriage was caused simply by non communication for many years on both sides and I acknowledge and take my share of the responsibility for that. I had a nice life being married and I was well cared for and got everything I wanted, except for love. My heart in the end, couldn’t live without love so I had to move on.

Australia, 2013.

I had only two weeks to cleanse my wardrobe of clothes, shoes, handbags, jewellery and other various things that I couldn’t fit into my 30kg suitcase. It involved several trips to the charity bins until I was left with only a small amount of clothes and favourite shoes and handbags I couldn’t bring myself to part with and so I simply boxed them up to keep for a rainy day. Now, I’m not sure that rainy day will come for me but I don’t want to digress so soon into my story so I will keep writing.

I’m grateful that my son was supportive of my decision because if he wasn’t it would have been just too hard to leave him behind. I know he was sad that I was leaving him, but he also just wanted to see me and his Dad happy again. For his young years, he is so much more mature than his Mother! He has been my rock of gibraltar and my love for him is unconditional and from my heart.

My siblings, of which I have two older sisters and two younger brothers were in the most part supportive of me. I say the most part because one of my sisters didn’t at all understand the reason for me leaving and said some hurtful and harsh words to me the night before I left which left me in a mess and crying my heart out. It has to this day caused a rift between us as sisters, which saddens me no end. I have tried and tried to get back what we had but now I have come to the realisation that she was just worried and concerned for me and that no matter whatever happens between us I will always love her as my sister.

Departure day was not easy for me. My husband and son and I drove in silence to the airport. My son hugged me for a long time and told me over and over again that he loved me. I could see he was struggling with holding back his tears. All I could do was hug him some more and tell him he was loved so much by me and his Dad. My husband was stoic and cold but nonetheless gave me a quick hug and wished me well. As they drove off, all I wanted to do was stand there and cry, which I did for a good five minutes then I dried my tears and held my head up high as I walked through the doors to check in for my new life in Paris.

My flight was with Malaysian Airlines and was long and uneventful. I think I spent my time writing poetry and drinking red wine. To this day, my poetry has helped me cope with things when I feel my world is falling apart. Words just come into my head and sit there until after much begging and demanding I write them down and publish them on my blog or facebook for all the world to read. It’s only then that I gain some sort of peace within me and I’m so thankful that I can express myself in this way through my writings.

Paris, 2013.

Landing at CDG airport in Paris was simply the best feeling and gave me hope! My 30kg suitcase was waiting for me and I found my way without hassle to the RER and was on my way to Place St. Michel in no time at all. From there, I took line 10 to Cardinal Lemoine and walked a short distance along the familiar rue monge in the 5th arrondissement to my little street being rue lacepede. My lovely landlord was on hand to greet me and give me a much needed hug. I have been renting the same studio from him for the last six years and so it was great for me that he agreed to rent it long term to me. It certainly felt like I was returning home!

It took me a few days to settle in, I was struggling somewhat with missing my son and my sister’s harsh words were still troubling me, but nonetheless I settled in and decided to embrace the moments that were before me. I can honestly say that I have never looked back with regret at the decision I made.

My dear friends M and E who lived in Paris were so supportive of me and I can’t thank them enough for their love and concern and genuine heartfelt kindness to me during the entire time. Sometimes, people are placed in your life for a reason and I believe these two wonderful, caring and gorgeous men were placed in mine!

My first year in Paris was not that easy. I definitely had my up and down days but again with the support of my besties and friends both in Paris and worldwide I was able to get through the year relatively unscathed and without the need for counselling. Though to be honest, on hindsight, I think I would have benefited from some.

November was tough for me. My husband back in Australia was moving ahead with divorce proceedings. I found out that he was seeing someone two weeks after I had left Australia. He is still with her and I wish them the very best. It came as a shock to know he was seeing someone so quickly and I struggled with the information which was delivered by my son via email. To my son’s credit he simply acknowledged it and told me if I needed to know more then I would have to ask his Dad.

There was one whole week of negotiations between my husband and me via emails and phone calls. It was hard, really hard and each time I hung up the phone or was hung up on, I cried myself into a frenzy and would call on my sister in New Zealand who was still speaking with me or my darling brothers for their support and love to get me through my day.

That week still stays with me, but I am pleased to say, that it was that week that showed me how much strength I had in staying the course and demanding what was due to me in terms of monetary value. I’m proud of myself for doing that.

December was fast approaching and I was invited to spend Christmas and my Birthday with my son’s girlfriend’s parents in Stockholm, Sweden. I was so grateful to them for inviting me into their home for the festive season but also a little nervous at flying sans my papers outside of France. All went well though and I thoroughly enjoyed my few days with my darling son, and his soon to be prospective in laws!

Having spent Christmas in Sweden I returned to Paris and it was with great pleasure that my son and his girlfriend came a few days later to celebrate New Year’s Eve with me. Being blessed is definitely a most wonderful quality to possess! We partied our way along the Seine in true Parisian style!

December of that year, also brought sadness my way. My darling landlord lost his battle with cancer and the day after, my dearest friend from the US died too. I remember coming back from the New Year’s Eve party alone and crying as I walked the deserted streets of Paris back to my studio. Life can be so unfair when good people are taken before their time is up on this earthly plain.

Paris, 2014.

I decided that after my unsettled first year in Paris that this new year which was suddenly upon me was going to be my happy year! January of course went by in a blur as has every other January of my life. It just does.

I was grateful to my friend, a french lawyer for helping me with my divorce and property settlements in signing off on the required paperwork. He is a good friend to me and lives in my quartier, well actually, in my street. and I appreciate his friendship to me very much. (insert-smiley-face-here).

So, in February, my divorce and property settlements were finalised. I remember celebrating with my bestie from Cincinnati, who was in Paris at the time. I also remember purchasing some expensive boots with her and calling them my divorce boots, because I could right!

It was at that point that my ‘happy year’ came into play. From frequenting one of my local bars I met a gorgeous, tall drink of water kind of guy! I very quickly named him my Moroccan Delight (MD for short) and we had a connection for the remainder of the year. He spoke English with me and was handsome, funny, witty and oozed with charm and may have melted me on the spot. Between him and my other darling friends, you would find us most evenings holding court at the bar in Le Contrescarpe, in the 5th arrondissement, where there would be laughter galore and hilarious conversations and so the evenings would pass by quickly!

My other café I would frequent on a daily basis and still do is known to me and my friends as LPC. I take my coffee there in the mornings, ok, usually not before noon and return in the evening for my apero hour sitting comfortably at the bar.

Today, I am known there in some form or other, mainly it’s because I bring all my Muriels and Maurices there to drink or eat. The staff are all so friendly and nice and the ambience is just to my liking. They also know how to make my coffee exactly how I like it. I don’t think I will ever change from this bar. If I did then I think the locals would hunt me down and drag me back!

During this year I also made a return trip to see my son and his girl, only thing, this time it was his fiancée as he had proposed to her in London in March. It was a fairy tale proposal and their love story is definitely one to be inspired by. I love her to bits and I know she loves my son equally so. Blessed again am I to have such a beautiful daughter in law to be (DILTB for short!).

I also visited my friends in Toulouse for a few days which was wonderful and uplifting and joyous to my heart. I love train travel and enjoyed the six hours being on a train chatting amicably to people next to me. In fact, it was on the return journey that I was chatted up by a gorgeous boy from Somalia who to this day stays in contact with me. I think train travel agrees with me. Just saying…

September, along with every month of this year I had lots of people visiting. Be it from the US, Canada, France, Israel, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, UK and Sweden they all wanted to come see me in Paris! At this point, my schedule was definitely pushed to the limits but I managed to accommodate and hopefully not disappoint too many people along the way. Family members of course were such a wonderful delight to me and I have been blessed again with continued visits from them into 2015.

All too soon we were hitting December. And this year, my son and his fiancée returned to Paris to share my Birthday with me which is on 24 December. We were located in a beautiful apartment in the 15th arrondissement courtesy of my dear friends G and JM. It was such a magical birthday for me and I was so happy to share it with them both.

For New Year’s Eve, I was invited to my darling friend G’s apartment in the 18th arrondissement and partied away with friends and made new friends. I remember thinking I would have to leave at 10pm at the latest to catch the metro back to my hood but guess what, I didn’t leave until 2am and caught the metro without hassle. There were so many happy people on that train!

Paris, 2015.

Alors, you find me still here in Paris! I can’t quite believe it myself, but here I am. I’m a survivor after all!

January of course went by in a blur.

February brought more sadness my way. My darling friend and confidant A, lost his battle with cancer in New York. I was devastated. I miss him with all my heart. We shared so much laughter over our three year friendship. From the first day I met him in Paris at the Vendange in 2011, I loved him on the spot. Again, my poetry has helped me heal with his passing.

This year, I decided that it will be ‘my find a man’ year! Or perhaps, ‘a man to find me’ year! I think I like that better! Not that I need a man in my life.. maybe just a string of lovers would suit me better. In the words of my bestie from Canada… ‘let it be’…. I so love her words of wisdom!

In March I headed back to Sweden to get a mom fix from my darling son and my darling DILTB. We had such fun together in their new apartment, drinking wine, playing ship and card games and laughing and crying at some point together. They also managed to coerce me to take a hike in the Swedish forest with them. At some point, I thought we were never going to get out of the forest alive! Tom pee.. I am prone to over exaggerating on some things though.

In April, I was invited back to do some cat sitting for my dear friend G in the 18th arrondissement. Her cat is nearing 20 years of age and his name is Papou. I love him to bits! He is handsome, attentive, lets me brush him and looks me directly in the eye when I speak to him… wait, aren’t they the qualities I’m looking for in a man? Well, maybe not the brushing bit! For two weeks I enjoyed such a wonderful time with Papou and my friend’s apartment is just so beautiful! I so love my friends in Paris!

Now, you find me in May in Paris where the weather gods are so not cooperating with my deficiency in Vitamin D levels! I know they will visit us soon enough but soon enough is not enough for me at this point!

Alors.. so that is all my story for now. I’m not sure it’s interesting or mesmerizing or tantalising or even funny but it’s my story and I own it and believe it and have lived it and am proud of it.

So wish me well for the next chapter if you can.

Thank you for reading me.

a bientot!

Bisous de Paris
Murielle!

YOUR FEEDBACK

IS APPRECIATED!

Eric

Wow! Laughter, tears, emotion, love… I didn’t miss a single line of your story and I loved it. You had the guts to make touch decisions and it paid off – and will pay off even more in a near future I’m sure.

XXXXXXXXX

Roniece

Thank you Eric! 🙂 xx

Eric T.

Obviously I meant “tough decisions” and not “touch decisions”, but my phone decided otherwise. I should monitor it more closely, one day it might decide to fly away and live a life of its own, like… Well you know what I mean LOL!

Roniece

yes I understood darling… and the thought of your phone flying away into a forest brought me much laughter.. as you knew it would!! LOL … in fact, I regaled that story to Marc ce soir when I skyped with him… he laughed too! xxx

MelJ

We’ll done, my queen! You are enjoying Paris, just as it is meant to be enjoyed: with an open heart. Oxo. Melaney

Roniece

thank you my lovely friend xx

Denise

Wonderful to read your inspiring story. Look forward to the next chapter. Xxxxlove from England. Denise.

Roniece

merci Muriel! xxx

Lilia

Like Denise, I am so looking forward to the next Chapter. I know we don’t see each other enough but once a year it will be for sometime – it is such a long for for my old bones. Most of all, I am so happy that you are finding some peach and love and contentment in your life! More power to you – you have the following of a multitude of Muriels! –
Love and bisous always – Framboise

Roniece

thank you my darling Muriel for reading me… much love to you and Tom..pee! 🙂 xxxx

Lilia

I meant peace, My Lovely! but peach is lovely, too!

Roniece

I so love Peaches! LOL x

Forever Paris...

Paris forever!

One of my passions is to travel. However for more than a few years now I seem to have found myself visiting Paris for extended periods of time.. well, make that weeks at least! i know it won't last forever but while it does... I'm going to enjoy every moment!